Anyone who has tasted Polish meat products knows that they are often excellent in taste. Not only Poles themselves, but also foreigners have found out about it, which is manifested not only by the phenomena in tourism, but most of all - by the Polish export of meat products.
Poland is one of the largest producers of animal food products in the European Union and the largest exporter outside the community.
Leading EU exporter
Since Poland's accession to the European Union, the value and volume of exports of meat products produced in Poland have been constantly growing. This makes Poland occupy a leading position among EU exporters of this type of product. The country is the EU's largest exporter of poultry outside the EU customs territory, the fifth largest exporter of beef and the sixth largest exporter of pork.
According to the data of the KOWR Analysis and Strategy Bureau, the value of Polish exports of cold cuts and other meat products in the first quarter of 2020 reached the level of EUR 2.1 billion (it constituted 19% of the entire structure of the exported range of agri-food products). This value was similar to the value from a similar period in 2019, which may indicate that any geopolitical changes or the crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic did not adversely affect the demand for Polish meat. What exactly was exported? Poultry (38%), preserves and offal (23%), beef (21%) and pork (13%). Other types of meat and livestock exports had a small share.
Long export tradition
Although the export of Polish cold cuts has intensified thanks to the accession to the European Union, it must not be forgotten that Polish cold cuts have been appreciated abroad for many years. An example can be the Krakus brand (belonging to the Animex group), which sold the cult canned "export ham" in the USA already in the 1950s! Interestingly - the same product is sold to this day, and abroad it is considered the best known, liked and tasty in its category. A good recognition and a positive, long-term image of the brand are currently conducive to the export of dry sausages, other canned products or classic kabanos sausages.
Why Polish meat?
Why are Polish cold cuts and meat so often chosen and what makes them so competitive with products from other countries? First of all, the technological capabilities of Polish meat plants allow it to adapt to the preferences and requirements of each market. Moreover, the experience related to the Polish client allowed to develop a work culture based on high-quality products (Poles themselves are very demanding in terms of meat quality) with low margins. This makes Polish products extremely competitive compared to other countries.
Where is the Polish meat and sausage export going?
As we have already mentioned, Poland not only exports meat products to the markets of other European Community countries, but also beyond it - and it is this "extra-EU" trade that constitutes a larger plot of the total Polish exports.
According to official statistical data, in 2019 Poland exported meat to at least a dozen European Union countries, including to Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, Austria, Spain and Lithuania. The non-EU recipients of Polish meat products include the USA, Ukraine, South Africa, Ghana, Israel, Cuba, Hong Kong, Vietnam and the Ivory Coast.
The challenges of the meat market
The meat market is demanding. Both farmers and meat processing plants have to face numerous difficulties, such as seasonal swine plague, new EU regulations, changes on the international economic market or the popular trend of abandoning meat products in favor of plants.
However, as statistics show, the Polish meat market is still doing quite well, and Polish meat, preserves and cold cuts are in demand worldwide. All the more, it can be a proof of the high quality of Polish products, which, despite the difficulties, are still on the market.
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